Good food, good deeds at New Horizons on Thanksgiving

John Harrelson, a former U.S. Marine, gets a meal during the annual New Horizons for New Hampshire Thanksgiving day lunch buffet on Thursday in Manchester. (Thomas Roy/Union Leader)

MANCHESTER — There was no leaving hungry at New Horizons on Thursday.

The food pantry and soup kitchen hosted its annual Thanksgiving feast, serving hundreds of people with turkey dinners complete with a full ensemble of traditional side dishes free of charge.

"It's for people who are looking for a place to go or bring their family for a full Thanksgiving dinner when otherwise they couldn't afford to do it," said Charlie Sherman, New Horizons executive director.

The pantry also hosted a lunchtime buffet of delicacies such as stuffed mushrooms, clam chowder prepared by chefs from local restaurants and cheese dips, as well as cold cuts for anyone who wanted a warm-up before the main event in the early evening.

Sherman said people were welcome to stay from the buffet through the dinner, which featured live music in the warmth of New Horizons' dining room at 199 Manchester St.

The Singer family and its Merchants Auto Group were the official sponsors and students from Southern New Hampshire University delivered 50 turkeys as part of a class project, Sherman said.

The menu also included mashed potatoes, both regular and sweet, butternut squash soup and an abundance of stuffing.

"I can't even begin to tell you how many pounds of stuffing and turkey," New Horizons chef Carlos Morales said. "There's going to be plenty of leftovers for turkey sandwiches in the coming days. I can tell you that much."

Morales was assisted by 40 to 50 volunteers, who donated their time to help with cooking, serving and cleaning up after the dinner, which Sherman expected would serve about 300 people.

Volunteer Shawn Caron of Manchester said signed up for 10 hours of service on Thursday.

"At the end of the day, when you go to sleep and rest your head on the pillow you know you did a good deed," Caron said. "It's very rewarding. You know when they come in, they're coming in hungry and they leave full. And that's a good feeling."